*IMPORTANT NOTE! *

For those of you who may not have been following my blog saga last week, Blogger spam robots flagged my blog as a potential spam blog and I was locked out of publishing for almost two weeks.

Because of this, I ended up "taking the plunge" and switching permanently over to TypePad to prevent this from happening again.

Come visit us at the new and improved MoneySavingMom.com.

And thank you for your patience!

Super Savings Saturday: This week's $40 shopping trip

Thanks to your input, I'm going to try and do a better job of outlining my shopping trips each week so you can see more what we're buying for $40 and hopefully be inspired in your own grocery savings.

Since we already had most staple items and fruit and veggies both fresh and frozen leftover from the last two weeks' shopping trips, I mostly focused on getting a few items we needed this week (like meat, milk, and eggs) as well as stocking up on some of the sale items.

Here was our Thursday evening shopping trip:
Hy-Vee
4 boxes Kellogg's SmartStart - on sale 4 for $9, used 2 $3/2 coupons = $0.75/box after coupons
12 packages FastFixin' chicken products - on sale for $1 each, used 12 $1/1 coupons = Free!
2 bags Corazona Chips - used 2 free Corazona chip coupons = Free!
1 Yo-Plus Yogurt 4-pk - on sale for $2, used $1/1 coupon = $1 after coupon (We love yogurt here, so I normally buy it anytime I can get it for around $0.25-$0.30/serving.)
Total: $6.14 (savings from sales and coupons: $24.38)

Hen House
Baking Powder - $1.85
KC Masterpiece BBQ sauce - on sale $1, used $1/1 coupon = Free!
1/4 Watermelon - on sale for $0.49/lb = $1.90
Blue Bunny Ice Cream - on sale for $2.76, used $1/1 coupon = $1.76
Farm-fresh organic eggs (from a local farm) = $2.69
Half gallon farm-fresh hormone-free organic whole milk (from a local farm) = $3.19
Total: $12.36 (savings from sales and coupons: $4.46)

Price Chopper (They were having a 60th anniversary sale so that's why some of these prices are so good!)
Peanut butter - on sale for $1.69
4 small yogurts - on sale for $0.29 each
Pace Picante sauce - on sale for $0.99
Ken's salad dressing - on sale for $0.99, used $1/1 coupon = Free!
Sara Lee bread - on sale for $1.19
2 1/2 lbs. of 93% lean ground beef - on sale for $1.99/lb = $4.86
Fritos - on sale for $0.99
2 bags Westpac frozen veggies - on sale for $0.60 each = $1.20
Total: $12.99 (savings from sales and coupons: $14.86)

[And please rest assured that this shopping outing was rather junk-food-heavy, but I promise we won't be eating all that junk food up this next week--especially all those chicken fingers and popcorn chicken! Stay tuned for this next week's Menu Plan Monday post to see what we'll be eating this week.]

On Friday, we took a field trip to a nearby free arboretum with some friends. On our way home, we hit Aldi and CVS to finish out our shopping for the week. Here's what we got:

(Excuse the quality of the picture--my camera died today so we had to use the cell phone to take this! And don't ask me why there is a yogurt in the picture, too. I guess three-year-old Kathrynne snuck that in when I wasn't looking!)

Aldi
1 mozzarella cheese - $1.89
1 cheddar cheese - $1.89
1 pack of strawberries - $0.99
1 bunch of bananas - $0.91
Total: $6.11

CVS Transaction #1
5 Glade sprays - on sale for $0.97 each, used 3 $1/1 coupons and 2 B1G1 coupons
1 Colgate Sponge Bob toothbrush - $2.99, get $2 ECBs, used $0.50/1 coupon
1 Colgate Total Advanced toothpaste - $2.99, get $2 ECBs, used $1/1 coupon
1 Aquafresh Extreme Clean toothpaste - $2.99, get $2.99 ECBs
1 Colgate 360 toothbrush - $3.99, get $3.99 ECBs
1 Schick Intuition razor - on sale for $8.88, Get $6 ECBs, used $4/1 coupon
2 CVS 4-packs of toilet paper - $1.59 each
Used $3/15 CVS coupon
Used $3, $5, and $5.98 ECBs
Paid $2.30 out of pocket
Got back $6, $4, $2.99, and $3.99 in ECBs

CVS Transaction #2
2 Colgate 360 toothbrush - $3.99, get $3.99 ECBs, used 1 $1/1 coupon
1 Colgate Sponge Bob toothbrush - $2.99, get $2 ECBs
1 Colgate MaxFresh toothpaste - $2.99, get $2 ECBs, used $0.75/1 coupon
6 Bliss milk chocolate small candy packages - $0.25 each (added as fillers since my total was negative)
Used my $4, $6, and $3.99 ECBs earned from my transaction above
Paid $0.13 out-of-pocket!
Got back $7.98 and $4 in ECBs!

If I had it to do over again, I should have bought one 4-pack of toilet paper per transaction and then I would had paid less out-of-pocket in the first transaction and not had to add on the Bliss chocolates to get my balance above negative in the second transaction. Hindsight is 20-20, isn't it?

All totaled, we spent $40.03 on groceries and household products this week--$0.03 over our $40 budget. I'll take it, especially since we had $1 leftover in our grocery budget from last week. And we'll not mention the fact that if I had done a better job of calculating at CVS, we wouldn't have gone over in the first place... oh well!

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How'd you do this week? Post about the deals and bargains you were able to snag this week on your blog (with pictures, if possible!) and then come back here and leave your link below.

We love freebies!

I think this was national Fast Food Freebie week this week--or at least it sure felt like it around here.

Since we're always sticklers for free ice cream, we couldn't miss out on free Haagen-Dazs. The new flavor they were giving out was really good and, surprisingly, there was almost no one at the Haagen-Dazs shop at the mall. And they even had this big sign right smack dab out in front:

I guess we're just weird because we'd never walk by a sign like that and turn down an opportunity for free ice cream, especially when there was no wait. But I guess we're not your typical shoppers or something because almost everyone else was walking straight by without even so much as a second glance.

The portions that Haagen-Dazs gave out were very generous--the size of a small cup or cone, which regularly costs $3.15. The girls loved it (Kaitlynn even got to taste her first few bites of ice cream) and I think Jesse and I enjoyed it even more! What a fun outing--all for free!

Last night, we all had sweet teas and free Southern-Style chicken sandwiches from McDonald's. Yum! And since Taco Bell is right by McDonald's, we also stopped in for a free Frutista with a $0.79 soft taco purchase. Altogether, the whole dinner cost us less than $4!

If only we had a Dunkin' Donuts nearby, we could have also gotten some free iced coffees!

Did your family take advantage of any of the food freebies this week? Did you find yours stores were empty like ours?

Tutor.com: Free 50-minute tutoring session!

If you are currently in school, a parent who would like to brush up on a subject in order to help your children with homeschooling or homework, or even if you're a blogger who would like an experienced eye to look over your posts and give you feedback and critique, Tutor.com has generously offered to give away 50 free minutes of tutoring to all of my readers!

This is double their normal offer and it is completely free--there are no strings attached, no obligations, ever. And when you sign up, you can save your 50 free minutes to use whenever--there is no expiration date!

To get your free 50 minutes of tutoring from Tutor.com, go here. And if you try it out, be sure to tell us what you think!

Target: Diaper and Formula Clearance

Numerous readers are reporting some great price reductions at Target on baby products so be sure to check your stores if you're going to be there.

Christine wrote:

Just got back from Target where I bought 6 packs of jumbo Huggies for $4.98 each. There is a new pack out with almost the same design except it has 'stop leak' on the front. All the other ones where reduced. Most of them had a price of $8.48 on the sticker but actually rang up at $4.98. With coupons this was a great deal!

And another reader named Christine also from Charlotte, NC wrote:

I just got back from my local Target and they had the special size (30.8 oz) Similac Advance on clearance for $23.98. As I only use this type of Similac I didn't take notice of the other kind also on clearance--but if I remember correctly it was the red colored can.

If you find any great price reductions at your stores on baby products, be sure to let us know!

See all deals at Target this week here.

Speed-linking: Fareway, Smith's, Albertson's, Hy-Vee, and more!

Publix deals from Sarah:

Colgate Toothpaste is on sale for $2.00
Use the $1.50/1 coupon from the All You May Issue
$0.50 after coupon

Kashi cereal is on sale for $2.50/box
Use this $2/1 coupon here
$0.50/box after

See more Publix deals here.

Fareway: Free Honey Bunches of Oats - From Brenda:
If anyone has a Fareway grocery store in their area, Honey Bunches of Oats cereal is on sale 2 for $4 this week, with the $2/1 coupons, it would be free.

Amazon Grocery Promotion - From Jeep Mom:
Amazon Grocery is having a promotion right now where if you buy $49 worth of certain products by Kelloggs, Cheez-It, Keebler, Carrs, and others, you get $20 off instantly!

Smith's: Post Cereal Deal - From Autumn:
In the Provo, UT area, Smith's is running a deal until next Tuesday where when you buy 4 boxes of Post cereal, you get them for $1 each. Our Smith's had all the Honey Bunches of Oats varieties, as well as Raisin Bran, Golden Puffs, Shredded Wheat, and a few other cereals. Limited to $4 off per transaction, so if you want more than 4 boxes at $1 each, you need to complete several transactions in batches of 4.

Albertson's: Free Sweet Baby Ray's Sauce - From Ashley:
Albertson's has Sweet Baby Ray's barbecue sauce on sale 10 for $10 through the 20th. Use the $1.00 off coupon from the 5/11 newspaper to get it for free!

Hy-Vee: Free Fast Fixin' Products - From More Than Enough:
Fast Fixin' products are on sale for $1 at Hy-Vee this week. Use these $1/1 coupons here to get them free! See more Hy-Vee deals here.

Save Money on Prescriptions - From Sharla:

Walgreens, CVS, Rite Aid, Kroger, and Meijer often have deals to convince you to use their pharmacy. For example, I got a coupon from Meijer's paper for a $20 gift card with a new or transferred prescription, I transferred my prescription there, got the gift card and also received a coupon for a $10 gift for the next time I get a prescription filled there.

I will keep my prescription there until one of the other stores has a similar deal and then will transfer my prescription to another store pharmacy. Sometimes Kroger even has a coupon where you get $20 gift cards for up to three different new or transferred prescriptions, so you end up getting up to $60 worth of free groceries!

Taco Bell: Free Frutista Freeze with any purchase

Through June 19, 2008, use the coupon here and get a FREE Frutista Freeze with any purchase at Taco Bell. The coupon can be printed twice.

Want more coupons? Go here and here and print two more at each link.

This could make a very inexpensive treat if you buy one of Taco Bell Value Menu items (prices start at $0.99) and then pare it with the free Frutista coupon!

Thanks, Laura!

Free Home Made Simple coupon booklet

Request your free Home Made Simple coupon booklet here. Last time around, these had some great coupons in them so definitely go sign up--there's still around 95,000 left as of this posting!

There is also a free Pledge Wipes sample and a free subscription to Remedy Life available right now from Start Sampling, among a few other samples. Go here to check those out.

Do as I say, not as I do...

...well, at least not as I did yesterday.

Read about how a lack of organization and foresight cost us sleep and $17 in my Frugal Friday post.

We have some winners and I have a favor to ask of you...

I guess you like educational toys, eh? Thanks to all 801 of you for jumping in and participating in the giveaway from Education.com! I think we'll have to do more giveaways in the future as it seems like something some of you like. ;)

Without further ado, here are the winners:

#1) The Chambers Family

#2) Jill

And now for that favor... I'm in the process of making some changes to my blogging approach (thanks in part to Blogger finally rolling out the new scheduled post feature so I can line posts up in advance and let this blog "run itself"!) and I'd really like to hear from everyone who has a moment to comment:

What would you like to see more of on this blog? What features do you find most helpful? What suggestions or ideas do you have for me to make MoneySavingMom.com more user-friendly and better suited to your needs?

I'm learning as I go and appreciate your input so fire away with candid advice; I've got pretty thick skin! No promises that I'll heed your advice or make your suggested changes, but I will definitely consider it as I'm tweaking some things here.

Thanks in advance for taking time to share. And most of all, thanks for reading here, for telling your friends about MSM, for your thoughtful emails, for passing along deals, and for helping us all to be better stewards of our resources. This blog would certainly be a rather dismal place were it not for all of you great readers out there!

Kroger (Dillons): Free Fast Fixin' products

Kroger (Dillons) has Fast Fixin' products on sale for $1 each. Use the $1/1 coupons here and get multiple packages for free!

Thanks, Heather! As always, make sure and check your ad online as Kroger sales vary by region. I know this is going on in Kansas Kroger (Dillons) stores, but I'm not sure where else.

More Kroger deals here.

Albertson's: All Small and Mighty for $1!

If you buy 5 of the All Small and Mighty at Albertson's for $15 this week, you'll instantly get $5 off your order total making them $2 each. Print out 5 of these $1/1 coupons and get them for $1 each after coupons and they store instant savings!

Be sure to check your local store flier to make sure they are running this deal.

Thanks, Jill!

Mid-Atlantic Giant: Free LiveActive cereal

The Mid-Atlantic Giant stores have the Live Active cereal on sale for $2.39 this week. Use the $3/1 coupons and get it for free plus possible overage!

Thanks, Jennifer!

Nordstrom: Free Smashbox Gift with Beauty Consultation

Visit Nordstrom's May 16-18 and receive a free highlighter quad with a beauty consultation. See more details here.

Speed-linking: Spring Hill Nursery, Fred Meyer, Kroger, Albertson's, Target

Spring Hill Nursery $20 Off $20 Purchase - From Deal News (Thanks, Claudia!):

SpringHillNursery.com takes $20 off any purchase of $20 or more via this link. It's the largest dollar-off coupon we've seen in over a year from SpringHillNursery.com, which sells plants, bulbs, and other gardening items. Shipping for most items is $7.95.

Fred Meyer: Extra 10% When You Buy a $300 Gift Card - From Linda:
Fred Meyer is offering that if you buy a $300 gift card, they'll add an extra 10% on making it $330. Since I spend that amount each month already for groceries there, I just pre-bought a gift card and used that towards my groceries. A great way to make an extra $30 on groceries I would be buying anyway. I know not everyone has $300 pocketed away to spend, but for those that do, its a great deal.

Fred Meyer: Naturally Preferred Coupons - From Rachel:
At our Fred Meyer here in the NW, there are free little magazines in the Natural/bulk foods sections called "Naturally Preferred" out right now with several coupons for natural/organic products such as one for $1 off any Organic Valley dairy product.

Kroger: Similac Markdown - From Jenni:
Last night at our Kroger I noticed they had cans of the Similac Isomil marked down to $4.99. I didn't look at the date but there were a BUNCH.

Albertsons: Free Ken's Salad Dressing - From Rachel:
Also, the same deal you posted about at Jewel is going on at Albertson's right now: Ken's salad dressings are $2/4 and some new $2 off Ken's dressing coupons came out last week (making it free!)

Albertson's: More Deals - From Cheryl:

Albertson's in my area (west coast of Fla) has Malt-O-Meal cereals on sale 3 for $5 (for the larger bags) - and there is a store coupon in the flier for a FREE gallon of milk when you buy 3 bags of Malt-O-Meal! I am going to work a few of the Malt-O-Meal manufacturer's coupons into my deal to get the cereal down to a dollar each--and go home with free milk to pour on my cheap cereal!!

They are also have a LOT of BIG1's on their 3 day sale (Fri-Sat-Sun) - including :
Red Baron frozen pizzas
Del Monte canned veggies
Arnold and Nature's Own breads (there was a .55/1 coupon in last sunday's insert for Natures own)
Sara Lee Bagels (FREE Albertson's 8 oz butter with 2 SL bagel purchase as well!)
Keebler Fudge shoppe cookies or club crackers
Juicy Juice and Tropicana Lemonade/Fruit Punch
Crystal Light on the go (14 ct)
Ronzoni Smart Taste Pasta

Target: Diaper Markdown - From Amy:

Wanted to share with you a great deal I found while shopping at my Target here in Greensboro, N.C. The store had some Huggies Overnights diapers and Huggies Pull Ups clearance priced. I was able to use a bunch of coupons here to maximize the savings on diapers and some Kandoo Wipes, as well. See more details here.